Red Dragon Inferno 24 Gram Darts Review

After 2 years of using my beloved Robert Thornton darts, I have finally found a dart that is worthy enough to take their place, the Red Dragon Inferno 24 Gram. It is approaching a big day in my short/non existent career so far, this Friday 18th September 2015, I will be participating in my first ever competitive match down in the local pub and I will be armed with the highest quality of tungsten about. It is testament to these darts that I will be using them on my début despite only picking them up for the first time 2 weeks ago, a decision that wasn't easy but I am confident that it's the right one.

Some basic information about the Inferno Darts:
Weight- 24 Grams
Tungsten- 90% Tungsten alloy
Dimensions- 6.5mm x 50.8mm
Thread- 2BA
Weight Distribution- Centre
Barrel Profile- Parallel
Front Profile- Round
Grip Type- Dual grooves
Grip Zone- Full length

What you get:
Darts- x3 Darts per set
Flights- x1 Set Hardcore Black Standard
             x1 Set Hardcore Orange Standard
Shafts- x1 Set aluminium medium orange Red Dragon printed
Wallet- x1 Leather Red Dragon Wallet

First of all, I'm no Gok Wan, but the black and orange throughout these darts works a treat and it certainly caught my eye whilst scrolling through Red Dragon's new 2015 range and 2 days after placing my order they were in my hand and they didn't disappoint. The orange stems and flights along with the barrel will make sure that you have the nicest looking darts down at the pub.

The dual grooves grip on the Inferno darts remind me of both World Champion Gary Anderson and 'The Machine' James Wade's darts, the only difference being that they are finished off with PDV black effect surface finish, giving them that extra bit of grip that may prove the difference between scoring 85 or 100. I would rate the grip at about 3/5 (1= smooth, 5= aggressive) which I think is just about right, enough to avoid slips and not so much that it catches on your fingers upon release. For the first time ever, I have kept the original stems that are provided with the darts as the extra length seems to work, but it is up to the individual to decide whether to change the stem size.

The Inferno's are ideal for any player that is looking for a long and thin dart at a very reasonable price. The grip intensity is perfect thanks to the black coating and the sleek look has completely won me over. The Thornton darts have been put away in a safe place, maybe not forever, but for the foreseeable future and I will keep you all updated about my upcoming match via my Twitter account, fingers crossed that the Infernos can do the trick!

Gerwyn Price 24 Gram Darts Review

With my game not improving as much as I would like, I thought it was time to acquire a lighter set of darts to see if it would make a difference to my overall average. I searched online for the best 24 gram darts I could find (2 grams lighter than my usual arrows) and I stumbled upon a set of Gerwyn Price's darts. With 'The Iceman' being fresh off the back of a great World Matchplay run where he reached the Quarter Finals beating both Michael Smith and Adrian Lewis along the way, I thought 'why not' and went ahead with this set. Here is what I thought of them:

What You Get:
- x3 darts per set ( 24 grams)
- x1 set of White Hardcore Extra Thick Flights
- x1 set of Team Red Dragon Poly Metronic Standard Flights
- x1 set of aluminium short Razor Edge blue & silver
- x1 set of aluminium medium black Red Dragon laser etched
- x1 Leather Red Dragon wallet
- 1 year Guarantee Card

Darts Specification
- 85% Tungsten Alloy
- Dimensions: 6.8mm x 50.8mm
- Thread: 2BA


Red Dragon's efficiency was evident as usual with the darts arriving to my door in 2 working days and it was straight to the practice board. After just a few minutes of throwing I knew something wasn't right and I quickly worked out that the extra short stems were the problem, but a quick change to the longer set provided in the wallet corrected this instantly. The set up of short stems clearly works for Gerwyn himself, so its down to the individual's style of throw to determine which would suit them better but it's definitely worth experimenting with.

When I first saw the darts, I was impressed with how good they looked. They didn't exactly catch my eye during The World Matchplay on television, but when they are actually in your hand they really are spectacular looking darts and the grip towards the back of the barrel has a nice zig-zag design, which resembles ice, a clever touch from Red Dragon.

Behind the ice design towards the back of the barrel, there are two rings of sharp grip and another 4 of these rings towards the front, this is the reason Red Dragon give the darts a grip rating of 4 (1=Smooth and 5=Aggressive), just perfect in my opinion .The darts are weighted towards the centre of the dart and rounded at the front and the surface is finished off with a polished look.

I decided then to put these darts to the test. I played 5 legs of darts with my standard darts (Robert Thornton's 26 Grams) then 5 legs with my new sets of tungsten. After the first session I managed a relatively normal 51 average with 5/16 checkout rate. The second session where I used the Gerwyn Price darts produced a 54 average and exactly the same checkout rate 5/16, not a massive improvement but definitely a step in the right direction. This evidence was enough to encourage me to use them more and I have now been practising with these arrows for the last week.

Overall I think the Gerwyn Price darts are very nice without too many complex details which means that it wouldn't be a risk to buy these darts. They have improved my game slowly, but slow progress is better than no progress so I would recommend them to anyone looking for a new dart.

Peter Wright PL15 Darts Review

Peter Wright is famous for his eccentric behaviour, over the top fashion sense and his ability to match any darts player in the world on his day. It's also been well documented that he changes his darts regularly in search of the perfect fit for his needs and finally it looks like he has nailed the perfect design.

What you get:

- 3 darts per set
- 1 set of Peter Wright super thick standard flights
- 1 set of Peter Wright holographic standard flights
- 2 sets of white coated aluminium Red Dragon stems
- 1 Red Dragon Wallet
- 1 year guarantee card

World number 5 'Snakebite' Wright had these darts designed for his participation in this years Premier League where he was unlucky to be eliminated at the first hurdle on Judgement Night despite some top quality performances against Kim Huybrechts and Phil Taylor. These new darts are very similar to the set he used when reaching the final of the World Championships in 2014, only difference being that they are slightly slimmer and of course they are available in blue and silver not bronze.

The first thing I noticed upon opening the packaging was how attractive these darts were. The blue coating along with rainbow effect on the point reflected exactly what Peter Wright is about, a stand out from the crowd attitude. This was definitely the case when I visited my local pub to test these new pieces of tungsten out, everyone in the darts area asked me about them and held them, so saying all of the regulars liked the darts would be an understatement.

The darts are 90% tungsten and weighted in the centre of the barrel. The grip is rated 4/5 by Red Dragon (1= smooth, 5= aggressive) and I wouldn't disagree with that. The grip is situated from rear to the centre where it is rough, and towards the front of the dart there are 3 grooves to add a little more grip while throwing.

My personal experience with these darts has been very good. I have problems with my grip which causes most of the darts I use to flick a lot in the air, which in turn causes them to go off target or bounce out of the board, but due to the fact these darts are centralised means they stay steady in the air and bring out these best in my game. I even hit a 180 on my first night throwing them, only the 4th maximum of my short career.

Overall, these darts are fantastic. They are visually the best arrows I have ever seen and Red Dragon have went the extra mile by adding in some fine details such as the rainbow effect points and the Snakebite logo on the barrel. Highly recommended and I give them a rating of 9/10.

Mervyn King 26 Gram Darts Review

My main problem as a dart player is the passing of the dart from holding hand to my throwing hand. I have a fast throwing style which means I do not have the time to adjust the dart during my throw so the transition between hands is vital. I'm sure there are other players with a similar problem and it can be very frustrating, especially when your first 2 throws are perfectly in the treble 20 and the third dart strays into a 5 or a 1. I set out to find a set of darts that would combat this weakness of mine and after some research I found that a 'Scalloped' barrel would be perfect.

I browsed Reddragondarts.com for this style and stumbled across Mervyn King's 26 gram darts, they seemed like they would fit the criteria of what I was looking for, so I decided to give them a go.
Two days later they were in my hand and I was straight onto the practice board. The first thing I noticed when throwing was how easy they were to throw despite weighing 26 grams, the scalloped barrel enables some extra push from the fingers on release creating a smooth throw but did the darts give me the consistency that I desperately needed? Yes. The darts were grouping better than they ever have, the speed of my throw is exactly where I want it and most importantly, I need to change the treble 20 segment on my board after just 1 week.

Forgetting all of the throwing elements of the darts, they really are beautiful. The tungsten alloyed barrel is finished off with a PVD black effect coating which gives them a nice attractive shine. Red Dragon have rated the grip 2/5 (1= Smooth, 5= Aggressive) due to there being some extra grooves towards the rear of the dart, these grooves may be a small addition but make the difference in a dart weighted towards the rear.

If you are struggling with inconsistency then I would advise you try these magnificent pieces of tungsten. They could improve your game and make throwing darts even more enjoyable than it already is.

Paul Nicholson 26 Gram Onyx Grip Darts Review

For some time now I have been tempted to get these darts. The sheer look of them is enough to make me want to throw them for hours. I had my doubts about the Onyx Grip, to be honest, I didn't even know what it was so I decided to do some reasearch and found out that it offers more grip with a black coating over the dart. That was me sold!

I visited RedDragonDarts.com and the next day when I arrived home from work I was surprised to see them in my postbox in the usual packaging with a case and signature Paul Nicholson flights, great service as usual. The first thing I noticed about these beautiful pieces of Tungsten was that they were HUGE! Well the thin barrel and large stems gave them that impression. Straight to my practice room and the first 3 darts didn't go so smoothly, 26 scored (possibly the score I hate most). Another 3 brought the same result, I noticed the flights were touching my eye on each throw so I changed the stems to small ones and had a go. Bearing in mind I have only scored 180 twice in my short career, hitting one with new equipment was a big ask, but after 2 hours of playing it happened. 

I couldn't beleieve it, they are now actually challenging my Thorntons for number 1 spot on my list of favourite darts.
The Nicholson Darts are weighted and gripped towards the rear which makes for perfect flight. To get  maximum grip from them, holding further back on the dart would be preferable but if this isn't your style, don't worry, the Onyx Grip makes it 'grippy' all over the barrel and it eliminates any slips. The white and green grooves that you can see in the picture offer grip in 3 separate parts of the dart and allow many different styles to use them. Red Dragon rates the grip 4/5 (1= smooth, 5= aggressive).

These darts need to be tried by every darts enthusiast, they are nothing like any dart I have ever thrown and I would highly recommend them. 

Thornton 26 Gram Review

Robert Thornton is getting yet another mention on this blog. I'm sure if you have read a few of my other posts, you will have realised that I am a big fan. This post, however, is not about 'The Thorn' himself, but about his darts.

My first 'decent' set of darts were the Unicorn Raymond van Barneveld Super Darts 23 gram from my local Argos store. I noticed myself beginning to throw better with these darts, I loved them, but one Saturday night I decided to bring them to the local pub to show them off, this was a pointless exercise because the bar was far too busy to play and 8-10 beers later the darts were gone. Gutted would be an understatement. 

The next morning, in my fragile state, I went on a hunt for the perfect replacement. A simple Google search threw up a website called RedDragonDarts.com. I had seen this advertised on a few players' clothing before so I gave them a go. I stumbled across Robert Thornton 26 gram and the first feature of this dart that caught my eye was the rough grip that received a 4/5 rating (1= smooth, 5= aggressive) so I decided to go with my instinct and purchased them for a reasonable £25.90.

Two days later they arrived and from that point onward I have never considered throwing another dart. The weight, thin barrel and amazing grip are what keeps me throwing at a good standard and in the past I have struggled maintaining a consistent throw due to an awkward throwing style that consists of using 3 fingers (one being on the stem and another slipping onto the point from time to time) but these feel like they were made just for me. Highly Recommended.

A mention to Red Dragon Darts for their speedy delivery and easy to use website, I have since used them to buy other darting equipment (Flights, stems etc.) and the products have arrived within 3 working days on every purchase, I would also highly recommend them.